In a series of nine separate and necessary events, each with other people’s decisions involved, in August of 1975 God landed me where I could not have dreamed that big: living in a log cabin in the mountains above Taos, 8,500 ft., the nearest neighbor three miles away. Maybe not heaven for you, but it was for me. No work to do, just living on an unused guest ranch, and being paid for it. In the process of leaving my native SoCal for a fresh start on life, thinking of Colorado but going through Taos in the summer of my 27th year, I found myself “coming home, to a place I’d never been before.” Then came…
Read MoreBorn in Mud and Blood
His parents were alone, far from home and family, and likely delivered their firstborn in a cave that usually sheltered animals. A bloody and muddy process birth can be, as Mary’s water broke and turned the dirt beneath into mud. Yet that suggests a deeper meaning that transcends the glitter of our sanitary manger scenes. Later, near the end of his life on earth, Jesus connected Christmas and Easter…
Read MoreCall Me Onesimus
In a recent conversation with God about some significant health issues I said, “You’re God, I’m not. I’d love to live long enough to take care of Sheila (my wife), and to write the family historical novel. I’m basically asking, keep me here as long as I’m useful to you and others for your purposes. Just do what you know is best.”…That prompted another thought. If God kept us alive as long as we’re useful to him, how long would we live? That led to another: what does it mean to…
Read MoreTrusting God’s Character
This time of year is my “Ebenezer stone:” a reminder of God’s care and goodness in my life. You see, three years ago I was fighting for my life. In the spring and summer of that year I experienced bizarre symptoms. Doctors had no answers, and as the months passed, I grew devastatingly ill. Sadly, the decline in my health meant leaving my profession because I was in constant pain, was bedridden, and could not eat. In my mind I was useless, and in my misery, I wished for death. I never once questioned my Heavenly Father’s goodness, although…
Read MoreAddiction
Addictions combine a strange and strong desire with an inability to function well with it and distress without it. We’ve all seen the damage that some addictions can bring, like substances, sex, food, or self. But let’s flip the script, right here.
Read MoreWorking Backward
When we moved back to our Temecula house that had been rented out for six years, we discovered that neglect had left much of it overgrown or dead. One of the many tasks: remove the back lawn and replace it with a brick pavers to create a backyard oasis with a waterfall and firepit. Then, semi-miraculously for SoCal in June, over 1" of rain fell over one weekend, which softened the turf enough to remove easily. Well, easier than if it were hard and dry, typical for SoCal summers. So I eagerly started in with a shovel and old muscles and fairly quickly excavated 3/4 of the 600 sq.ft., only to realize…
Read MoreSeek the Light
Last May, while I was away on a bike trip, my wife and her sister did play. Spell that shopping, and they each bought a small succulent plant, Northern Lights, or sempervivum for any xerophile enthusiasts out there (the rest will have to look it up, like I did). It loves light, so Sheila placed it behind our kitchen sink, with windows on both sides. Soon came her concern, “Something is wrong with this plant, it’s not growing right. Small “chicks” had grown out from the center “hen,” but only on one side. The poor plant lost its balance. Fortunately…
Read MoreJeremiah Johnson
I get tired physically, although I feel fine until I do “too much,” which is much less too much than a year ago. I get tired emotionally from disappointments and the wounds of life. I get tired of not growing in my closeness to God in the same areas. But the film Jeremiah Johnson touched me. Johnson arrived in the trapping era knowing little, but was mentored by an experienced trapper. They met again at the end with a conversation that gave me some tips. Just below, the first two and last two lines are…
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